Hamish McDonald is a former foreign editor and China correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, and former regional editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review.
National affairs
The intelligence chief with the PM’s ear
Hamish McDonald
6 November 2020
Is Labor right to be worried by Scott Morrison’s choice to head the Office of National Intelligence?
International
Sabres rattling in Beijing
Hamish McDonald
27 October 2020
With the Taiwan dilemma deepening, Australia might be forced to take a stand
International
No cherry on Japan’s cake
Hamish McDonald
9 September 2020
The Japanese defence minister’s aspiration to join the Five Eyes agreement is seen as too far, too fast among members
Books & arts
Encountering the subcontinent
Hamish McDonald
14 August 2020
Books | History reveals an often-fraught relationship between two parts of the British Empire
Essays & reportage
His country, weak or strong
Hamish McDonald
3 August 2020
It’s the question confounding observers: is China lashing out from a sense of weakness or strength?
National affairs
Zooming in or zooming out?
Hamish McDonald
21 July 2020
Covid-19 has accelerated the emergence of “minilateralism” — but how new is this style of diplomacy?
Books & arts
In plain sight
Hamish McDonald
24 June 2020
Books | Is Beijing really waging a successful war against the West?
Books & arts
Off-water matters
Hamish McDonald
17 June 2020
Books | Australia can’t afford to take its nearest neighbours for granted
National affairs
Can the drift be stopped?
Hamish McDonald
4 June 2020
A new voice in the Australian Jewish community retains hopes of a two-state solution to the Israel–Palestine conflict
National affairs
Journalists on the ramparts
Hamish McDonald
20 May 2020
Has the press gallery forgotten we’re not at war with China?
International
Borrowed place, borrowed time?
Hamish McDonald
13 May 2020
Hong Kong seems to be heading into a long summer of trials, protests and electoral disqualifications
Essays & reportage
1770 and all that
Hamish McDonald
28 April 2020
The anniversary festival has been abandoned, but the communities at Cook’s landing point continue to promote a more complex story
National affairs
Bernard Collaery’s bombshell
Hamish McDonald
19 March 2020
Neither Australia nor Timor-Leste is benefiting from a resource whose value seems greater than the petroleum gas that carries it
International
All in the same canoe
Hamish McDonald
30 January 2020
The devastating bushfires are adding to the pressure for Scott Morrison to cooperate with Australia’s Pacific neighbours
International
One anniversary, two cities
Hamish McDonald
2 October 2019
Protests continued in Hong Kong as Beijing celebrated seventy years of communist rule
National affairs
China’s postmodern experiment
Hamish McDonald
3 September 2019
Xi Jinping’s strategy has become clearer, and it needs a more sophisticated response from the West
International
Allies behaving badly
Hamish McDonald
12 August 2019
Has Trumpism taken hold among US-aligned countries in East Asia?
International
Two systems, one crisis
Hamish McDonald
12 July 2019
The aftermath of the backdown in Hong Kong is being closely watched in Australia and among its allies
National affairs
Shooting the messengers
Hamish McDonald
6 June 2019
This week’s AFP raids fit a pattern of crackdowns under the Coalition
International
What’s in a name?
Hamish McDonald
10 April 2019
The title of Japan’s new era looks like a subtle challenge to the new emperor
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